Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission, Huang Teng-lung, will go to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan tomorrow to give a special report on the “draft amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the establishment of the Anti-Fraud Act to prevent virtual assets and trading businesses from becoming tools for fraud” and the “progress of establishing a special law for virtual assets.”
According to reports from the China Times, the Financial Supervisory Commission stated in a written report submitted to the Finance Committee today that in order to implement the regulatory goal of balancing security and development, the Commission will actively promote the supervision of virtual asset operators through special laws and promote the healthy development of the industry. Additionally, the Commission acknowledged in the report that virtual assets are an emerging technology industry with future development potential, and will actively guide operators to promote industry development.
The Commission pointed out that the supervision of virtual assets in Taiwan will be carried out in four stages. Currently, it is in the third stage, and the fourth stage will promote the “Virtual Assets Act,” with plans to submit a draft by the end of this year and submit it to the Executive Yuan for review in June next year.
The four stages of the Financial Supervisory Commission’s supervision of virtual assets are as follows:
The first stage is the issuance of the “Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Measures for Virtual Currency Platforms and Trading Businesses (VASP AML Measures),” with 25 operators having completed compliance statements so far.
The second stage is to promote the establishment of the VASP Industry Association and formulate self-discipline regulations. The VASP Industry Association is expected to hold its founding meeting on the 13th. The Commission will actively supervise the association to develop self-discipline regulations in line with VASP guidelines and include penalties to strengthen self-discipline.
The third stage involves amending the Anti-Money Laundering Act to include VASP registration, clarify VASP definitions, and impose criminal liability on illegal operators to enhance management. Differential management will be considered in subsidiary regulations based on the complexity of operations.
The fourth stage is to promote the “Virtual Assets Act” to effectively regulate market behavior. The Commission has outsourced a research team to reference regulations or recommendations from the EU, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, the UK, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to establish the special law. The Commission plans to propose a draft of the Virtual Assets Management Act by the end of December this year, conduct regulatory notices and hold public hearings, adjust and revise based on external feedback, and submit the draft for review by the Yuan before June next year.
